Red Steel 2 was reviewed favorably, but that doesn't mean it was a success. Its disappointing sales performance, says the game's creative director, can be chalked up to gamers unwillingness "to get up and move and exert themselves for fun."

The Wii-only and well-reviewed samurai Western Red Steel 2 sold about 50,000 copies in the U.S. in March, its first month of release, according to financial analyst Michael Pachter. [UPDATE: Ubisoft comments.]

Would you like to hear a developer speak freely about making a sequel to a game that was panned? Red Steel 2's Jason VandenBerghe did that today, from Paris. You can download one of our best hours of audio now.

A skeptical world might not see video games as essential. But we can point to many games that feel worthy of this planet. Games about eating mushrooms, arranging falling blocks, saving the world. However: A first-person shooter with motion-based swordplay?

While I like the art style and the more accurate motion-sensing, thanks to its predecessor Red Steel 2 still has to prove itself in my house, in my hands before I make any final decision on whether I like the game.

Ubisoft had a newly playable copy of Red Steel 2 at Gamescom, its cowboy-samurai western now full of ninja and 360-degree Wii MotionPlus-powered sword swingin'. And I nearly had my delicate wrist snapped off playing the thing.